V Series Alien: Earth, Interview with Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant and the Cast

Alien: Earth is the TV series streaming on Hulu. The plot is set in 2120 and centers on a mysterious spacecraft that crashes on Earth: a young woman and a diverse group of soldiers make a discovery that confronts them with the planet’s greatest threat. The series is directed by Noah Hawley, and the cast includes Sydney Chandler (Wendy), Alex Lawther (Hermit), Timothy Olyphant (Kirsh), Babou Ceesay (Morrow), and Samuel Blenkin (Boy Kavalier).

What’s the relationship with the original Alien?

Noah Hawley: It was Ridley Scott who made Alien and then made Blade Runner. He introduced the idea of synthetic beings, and then explored it further in Blade Runner. What I would say is that, in portraying synthetic beings in Alien, I’m certainly not trying to make Blade Runner, but I understand how comparisons can be made from an aesthetic point of view. The initial premise was that Kirsh is programmed not to harm his boss in any way, but it’s also difficult to disagree with his behavior. Getting angry with the boss is forbidden. You can also be displeased with just a look.

Your character, Wendy, seems very layered.

Sydney Chandler: Wendy is a blank page. You can’t research a hybrid. I feel that Noah has managed to create a very layered and concrete character. As for the balance between the two, it depended a lot on which actor I was performing with on that day and in which scene. Each actor brought a different touch to the work, which gave me more information about who I was portraying.

How did you approach your character, Kirsh?

Timothy Olyphant: I thought the hair was enough. I thought if we bleached it… There you go. Now it’s a thing unto itself. We can stop with the comparisons. I’m a big fan of the work done previously. I’ve seen that Ian Holm performance who knows how many times. It’s so compelling and delicate. If I thought about those guys, it was simply because they and their work inspired me. For the most part, I showed up just to do a Noah Hawley project (laughs).

A TV series based on Alien had never been made before. How did the process unfold?

Noah Hawley: Well, an Alien movie is a two-hour survival story, while a television series is a long series in which you have to invest in many characters who don’t die, and explore these characters and the themes introduced in the Alien franchise. So, the challenge for me is this: let’s remove the monsters for a moment and think about what the show is. Where is the drama in which we invest week after week? I don’t worry about the monsters. When we insert the monsters, there’s the satisfaction-guaranteed promise, right?